All-clear for Adlershof’s new residential area "Wohnen am Campus"

“Whenever people go to work in a certain place, they will sooner or later want to live nearby.” Ute Hübener sums up what she frequently experiences in her work as Adlershof Projekt’s sales manager: that many people who work in Adlershof want to live here, too.

With “Wohnen am Campus” we are now creating a second residential area for Adlershof”, says her colleague and coordinator of the project Christof Hamm. Approximately 700 new residential units are to be built on a 14-hectare site north of the campus of Humboldt-University. Starter project is the construction of six passive houses designed by structural engineer Frank Müller from Berlin.

In addition, student accommodations will be built. The site envisaged for this project was advertised in August 2010. Hübener describes the new quarter’s potential residents as follows: “We have in mind the employees of Adlershof’s businesses and scientific institutions, airport employees or people who commute regularly and would benefit from short travel times to the airport and motorway, while enjoying the advantages of Berlin’s leafiest district.

And, naturally, we are thinking of all those people with forward thinking and the wish to live ecologically. Because at Adlershof, we opt for ecology and sustainability.” And Christof Hamm adds that “we want to meet a wide spectrum of housing requirements and therefore intend to support not only the construction of selfowned residences, but also a good number of rented flats”.

In line with Adlershof’s innovative overall character, regarding the residences Adlershof Projekt focuses on the realisation of energy efficiency concepts and mutual housing projects: “Passive houses, geothermal energy, utilisation of district heating and regenerative energy, cross-generational and barrier-free houses are only some of our key points,” says Hübener. “But we also discuss e-mobility concepts and the possibility to install charging stations for electric cars along the public roads.”

An infrastructure suitable for residents’ requirements is in close vicinity to the future quarter. Day nurseries, a shopping centre, two medical centres, cafés, restaurants and Adlershof train station are within walking distance. In addition, the tramway will have been extended to the residential area by the end of 2011.

Mature trees will largely be preserved: A new playground will be integrated into an existing birch grove. Moreover, new green spaces will be created. The nearby landscaped parkland with its topical gardens is suitable for leisure activities. The building plots will be sold to self-build housing co-operatives and project developers who intend to construct blocks of flats or urban terraced houses on site.

Hamm has positive experiences with the concept of self-build housing cooperatives: “It seems that this model with its numerous participation options and cost benefits agrees with the way people at Adlershof tend to think.” Frank Müller’s passive houses, for instance, will be constructed by such a self-build. A development plan for the residential area is under way. Earliest start of construction activities could be in the summer of 2011.

by Babara Woithe